Page 37 of All Your Lies (All or Nothing #2)

“Don’t come any closer,” I blurt as I continue to re-aim the barrel at his head the closer he advances on me.

“Put the gun down and let’s talk.” He takes another step in my direction, and I don’t even think as I aim the gun south, squeeze the trigger, and hit him in the outer quadrant of the left thigh.

In shock, his eyes widen, and a pained hiss escapes his lips as he limps toward me like a deranged zombie.

The slightest tremor runs through my hands as I ready myself for a chest shot, but just as I’m about to shoot, the sound of tires screeching interrupts us from behind. As he spins and retreats to his vehicle, the sound of someone pounding the pavement behind me grows louder.

“Fuck, are you okay?” Vic asks at my side.

“Yeah, follow him.”

“Trey’s already on it. Why don’t you come with me, and I’ll have one of the guys pick up your car?”

I shake my head while I continue to stare at the empty concrete where Brad was.

“The same thing still stands. Find him, then call me. I have somewhere I’m trying to go.”

Without waiting for a response, I spin around and head back to my car. I place the gun on the passenger seat so I don’t burn my backside, and then drive away.

Pushing open the door to my condo, I’m greeted by the sight of chaos that remains from the other day.

I rush to my bedroom and start clawing through the scraps of material and anything else I can find for the little black box with the red bow.

If something happened to it, it would tip me over the edge.

Tears fall freely to the ground as I sit on my hands and knees while searching everywhere for the box. My hands finally feel something under my bed, and once I grab onto it, my eyes close in relief.

Sitting on the floor, I press my back against the side of the bed, my fingers trembling as I open the box and carefully retrieve the note.

When you need direction, I will guide you, and when you need reassurance, I will comfort you. I will forever be by your side. I love you. — Your future husband, Gage

Clutching the note against my chest, I surrender to another overwhelming wave of tears, letting them escape without restraint as I sob uncontrollably. What if he doesn’t make it? I can’t do this without him. I can’t live without him by my side. He’s the love of my life. My best friend.

The sound of footsteps approaching causes my eyes to widen, and without hesitation, I draw my gun and point it at the door.

With her hands raised in surrender, Jenna materializes in the doorframe. She looks significantly healthier compared to how she appeared just two days prior.

“You can kill me if you want. I won’t allow anyone else but you to do the honors.”

“Do you still want all the best songs played at your funeral?” I ask.

“Only if my death is sufficient, and you take pity on me.”

A small grin touches my lips, which causes her to grin as well. Despite the unresolved matters between us, my intuition tells me she has genuinely been on my side, offering her protection all these months since we’ve been friends.

Once I ensure the safety is on, I securely stow the gun in the back of my pants.

“I was just getting to the good part. Do you want to listen with me?” I say, holding out the iPod.

“I thought you’d never ask,” she says as she walks over, does a spin, and then sits cross-legged with a grimace.

“How’s the leg doing?”

“I’ve had worse,” she says with a sad smile.

“At some point, I’m going to want to know everything.”

She nods, her face sullen. “And I’ll give it to you. Whatever you want to know.”

“Is Jenna even your real name?”

She shakes her head. “No, but I like the name Jenna.”

“What’s your real name?”

“I-I don’t know.”

I quirk a brow. “How can you not know?”

“It’s complicated.” She sighs. “I... remember nothing before the age of seven.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I was taken. All of us were. We only know what’s been beaten into us.”

“Jesus, Jenna.”

“Let’s worry about my life later. There are far more important things happening,” she deflects.

“But...”

She shakes her head and I drop it. This is a lot to unpack, and she may not be ready to discuss it, as she claims. My friend, who I’ve grown to love like a sister over the past few months, isn’t who she portrayed.

Beneath the bubbly exterior of the fun-loving woman is a lost and hurting girl, and I want to help her heal and get revenge on whoever caused her pain.

I give her the earbud for her right ear while I take the left. I hit shuffle, and we wait in silence until a song plays.

The speakers come alive with the smooth, seductive notes of a song that starts slow and sensual, and in seconds, we’re cracking up.

“I knew it was a playlist for your honeymoon!”

We both move back and forth as the rest of the song plays and wait for the next song. It begins with a slow tempo, and a smooth melody fills the air, triggering recognition in me. As I sob, Jenna’s firm grasp on my hand offers solace throughout the entire song.

I snatch my phone from my side as it vibrates. Vic texted me an address, but it’s not their house or the lake—it’s somewhere else entirely.

“I have to go,” I say to Jenna as I remove the left earbud and rise to my feet.

“I understand.” With a frown, she nods and gives me back the other earbud.

“Do you want to come? It’s somewhere in Wilding.”

“I know where it is.”

“Good, let’s go,” I say as I pocket the box with the iPod and note in it. “On the way, you can tell me all about these ‘games’ Trey was talking to you about the other day.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me.”

With the night closing in, the tall trees lining the road loom large.

Their branches create a dark tunnel as we drive closer to our destination.

Finally, we stop just outside a massive metal gate, its imposing presence casting a shadow over us.

A figure that looks vaguely familiar approaches with a gun securely fastened to his chest. With a squinted gaze, he points toward someone, signaling for them to allow us entry.

We drive through the entrance and find a parking spot close to the front of the gigantic building.

“Gage is going to kill me when he finds out you came by your—” Vic says as he looks beyond me at the other side of the car where Jenna is exiting. “He’s definitely going to kill me.”

As I step into the vast, open area, the absence of sound is palpable, creating an eerie atmosphere that is almost unsettling. When I asked them to find him, my heart was heavy with hurt, my mind filled with confusion, and my thoughts consumed with worry about the unknown.

Rage is the only thing that pumps through my veins now.

We descend into the dimly lit basement, making our way through a narrow hallway until we reach a doorway. Brad sits on a chair inside, bound and naked, with his head drooping to the side.

I walk into the room and catch Trey and Marcus in the corner.

Their laughter halts as they glance in my direction.

They share a quiet demeanor, yet I discern a variance between them.

As Trey’s eyes meet Jenna’s, his face breaks into a wide grin, his excitement evident, while Marcus purposely averts his gaze. Weird.

As I glance at her, I notice her eyes rolling with exasperation before returning her attention to the purpose of our visit.

“He’s not dead, is he?” I ask, my gaze fixed on the superficial wound on his thigh—a long, shallow graze, still faintly bleeding from my earlier, clumsy shot.

“He passed out after pissing himself. We only fucked with him a little. Highly disappointing if you ask me,” Trey says.

Jenna gives my hand one reassuring squeeze as I step forward and walk up to him by myself.

This is what I was trained to do, what has always been expected of me, but I was too worried I’d never have what it takes.

I guess all it takes is someone shooting the love of your life to become a vengeful, rage-infested being whose sole purpose is to destroy the person who hurt your heart and soul.

Feeling the weight of my gun against my back, I reach behind me and retrieve it. The safety clicks, the sound reverberating through the hushed room.

The gun is steady in my grip as I take aim at his left foot, and the tension in the air intensifies as I squeeze the trigger.

At that moment, I don’t know what’s more satisfying—the piercing sound of his scream or the sight of crimson blood staining the concrete floor.

His tear-filled eyes bore into mine, radiating a hatred that I undeniably reflect.

“When did you first start following me?”

“I’m not telling you shit,” Brad says as he howls in pain.

As I position the muzzle of the gun on top of his kneecap, he struggles, but the tight bindings keep him from making any significant movement.

“Answer the question.”

“High school!”

The mere idea of someone stalking me for all these years sends shivers down my spine and fills me with dread because I never noticed.

“You’re part of the gang?”

When he doesn’t answer, I aim the gun at his knee as he clenches his lips, and with a single shot, I shatter his kneecap. The sound of another piercing scream fills the air, causing him to convulse and vomit on the unforgiving concrete room.

“Answer my questions or I’ll just keep riddling you with gunshot wounds.”

“No. My brother—” he says as he cries. “He let me go with him to watch you, but then he said I couldn’t come that night because I found out they were going to kill you, but I wanted you. I watched you. I saw you first. You were mine.”

I ignore his delusions and continue with my interrogation. “Are you the one who left me roses and fucked up my condo?”

“We were supposed to be together, not you and that guy... I hope he’s dead.”

The intense rage that’s been simmering for the past few days suddenly erupts. With a forceful motion, I press the gun against his other knee, noting the hard metal against my palm before pulling the trigger for the third time.

An unprecedented surge of adrenaline courses through me, making my hands tremble violently. I let out a deep breath with a need to finish this. Bending toward him, I whisper, “There is only one person I will ever love, and it’ll never be you.”

With a steady hand, I press the gun firmly against his heart before finally squeezing the trigger. Once he slumps over, I turn around and face Jenna, Vic, Trey, Marcus, and Julian.

No disapproval, hatred, or disgust is reflected in their eyes, only acceptance and pride. It’s a fucked-up thing after what I just did, but that is my life. That is the Mafia. And when someone comes after your family, your loved one, you eliminate them. No remorse, no second thoughts.

I finish putting the safety back on and tuck it into the back of my jeans just as Jenna walks up to me.

She takes my hand, and her mouth goes to my ear. “You found your power. Your strength. I always knew you had it in you, and now you do too.”

The power and strength she speaks of, a fiery current now coursing through my veins, is fueled by a love so immense, so incandescent, it transcends the boundaries of life and death.

I now fully understand why Dad can do it effortlessly, without even flinching. His essence is preserved by the boundless love he holds for us, and reciprocally, the love we hold for him.

“I want to go back and be with Gage,” I say to Jenna. I turn back to the guys just as I hit the doorframe. “Thank you for finding him so quickly, and thank you for this.”